Identification band



IDENTIFICATION BAND Filed Nov. 12, 1959 2 SheetS-Sh et 1 .E'dw'm I." Taapfer Nov. 29, 1960 E. F. TOEPFER IDENTiFICATION BAND 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 12, 1959 IDENTIFICATION BAND Edwin F. Toepfer, 1016A S. 16th St., Milwaukee, Wis.

Filed Nov. 12, 1959, Ser. No. 852,445

Claims. (CI. 4021) This invention relates to identification bands for tagging various types of articles, and refers more particularly to a very inexpensive and easily installed unitary band of paper or paper-like material which may be quickly looped about an article or bundle of articles and which incorporates integral means for securely locking its opposite ends together.

It is thus an object of this invention to provide an inexpensive identification tag and band which may be looped around such articles as wiring harness cables, pipes and conduits, growing plants and trees, furniture, automobile parts and accessories, hand tools, and a wide variety of other items that require price tags or other identifying markers.

In furtherance of this general objective it is another object of this invention to provide an identification band which is not only very inexpensive but which is also capable of being very securely attached to many different kinds of articles and items without any possibility of scratching, marring, denting or otherwise injuring any article to which it is attached.

Another object of this invention resides in the provision of a very inexpensive unitary band of paper or paper-like material which may be made, shipped and handled as an elongated flat strip and which incorporates novel integral means for fastening its opposite ends together in a very facile manner whereby an extremely. secure connection between its ends can be very quickly established.

It follows that it is also an object of this invention to provide a band of the character described which is well adapted to serve as a bailing or bundling tie for small articles such as groups of electrical wires, sheafs of paper, bundles of small rods or tubes, etc.

It is also an object of this invention to provide an identification tag and tie band of the character described which may be looped around a bale or bundle of small articles and the remote ends of which may be readily connected and adjusted in such a manner that the looped band may be pulled down to substantially any desired girth, which adjustment will thereafter be securely maintained by the band.

Another object of this invention resides in the provision of an identification tag and band of the character described which has provision for readily detachably looping the band around a part to be temporarily identified, to permit the band to be easily removed from an identified article at some stage of work thereon, and which also includes provision for very secure permanent attachment of the band to an article to be identified.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an identification band and tag of the character described which is very inexpensive to make because it can be cut from a single narrow strip or blank of paper or paperlike material, requiring no folding or bending and having no other parts assembled or connected to it, and which is symmetrical about its longitudinal centerline so that it can be very easily laid out. i

atent O ice With the above and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, this invention resides in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts substantially as hereinafter described and more particularly defined by the appended claims, it being understood that such changes in the precise embodiments of the hereindisclosed invention may be made as come within the scope of the claims.

The accompanying drawings illustrate two complete examples of the physical embodiments of the invention constructed according to the best modes so far devised for the practical application of the principles thereof, and in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of an identification band embodying the principles of this invention;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the band with its opposite ends fastened together to hold the band looped around an article to be identified;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 but showing the band in another position of adjustment in which it forms a loop of slightly smaller girth than as shown in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a plan view of a modified embodiment of the identification band of this invention;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the modified embodiment of the band shown in Figure 4, illustrating a preliminary step in the temporary connection of the ends of the band; and

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 5 but showing the modified band formed into a loop with its ends temporarily connected.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings, the numeral 5 designates generally an identification band embodying the principles of this invention, which is formed as a unit comprising an elongated strap 6 and an indicia receiving tag 7 integrally connected with the strap at one end of the latter.

The band is adapted to be fabricated from a relatively stiff paper or paper-like material. Preferably it is diecut from Pyrolite, which has such desirable paper-like qualities as flexibility, light weight and ability to be die cut and to take pencil and ink markings but which, in addition, is tougher than paper, stiffer for a given thickness, flame resistant and water proof. It will be seen that fabrication of the band from a suitable paper or paper-like material assures that the band will not scratch or mar articles to which it may be attached and that it can be manufactured at very low cost and shipped in the flat" in very compact packages.

The strap portion 6 of the band of this invention has its lengthwise extending side edges serrated to provide a plurality of shoulders 8 which face toward the end of the strap that is connected with the tag 7. The shoulders are spaced apart at substantially uniform distances along the length of the strap and are arranged in pairs, with the shoulders comprising each pair laterally aligned with one another at opposite sides of the strap and preferably extending perpendicular to the longitudinal centerline of the strap, although they can, if desired, be disposed at small oblique angles to such a perpendicular. The serrations which define the shoulders along each side of the strap also define edge sections which are inclined at oblique angles to the shoulders and to the longitudinal centerline of the strap, as at 9, so that the laterally inner end of each shoulder is connected by a straight edge portion of the strap with the laterally outer end of the lengthwise adjacent shoulder.

The strap is thus symmetrical about its longitudinal centerline and has the appearance of a continuous line of uniform wedge-shaped segments, each tapering toward the end of the strap remote from the tag and each providing a pair of laterally projecting transversely aligned barb-like shoulders at its wide end. At its end remote from the tag, the strap tapers to a narrow, rounded tip which presents the appearance of an elongated and blunted arrowhead.

It will be observed that the widest portions of the strap are across the pairs of shoulders, all of the pairs of shoulders being of the same width, and that the minimum widths of the strap are at the narrow ends of the wedgeshaped segments, along lines connecting the laterally inner ends of the shoulders of each pair.

The tag 7 comprises, in effect, a substantially widened end portion of the band, having both of its marginal side edge portions 11 projecting laterally beyond the strap. The tag may have any desired shape, so long as it extends sufficiently far endwise from its connection with the strap to provide a suitable area 12 on which indicia may be placed, and preferably it is symmetrical about the longitudinal centerline of the band.

The tag has a pair of slot-like apertures 13 and 14 near its end adjacent the strap, spaced from one another lengthwise of the band and extending across the longitudinal centerline of the band parallel to one another. The size of these apertures, transversely of the band, is substantially equal to the widest dimension of the strap, being preferably slightly smaller than the width of the strap across the shoulders, although it could also be slightly larger. Through these two apertures the end portion of the strap remote from the tag is adapted to be threaded, being first inserted into the aperture 13 nearer the strap and then brought through the other aperture 14 so that the shoulders on said end portion of the strap face the junction between the tag and the strap.

Those edges 16 of the apertures 13 and 14 which are adjacent to the side edges of the tag diverge in the direction in which the strap is threaded through the apertures, so that each aperture is longest, in the direction transversely of the band, along its edge 17 remote from the strap. Thus when the strap is threaded through the apertures l3 and 14 in the tag, the divergent edges 16 of the apertures cooperate with the inclined edge portions 9 on the strap to cammiugly bow the strap across its width at its widest points, facilitating passage of the shoulder portions of the strap through the apertures, particularly if the length of the edges 17 of the apertures is slightly less than the maximum band width.

The major function of the divergent edges 16 of the apertures 13 and 14, however, is to guide the shoulders back into confronting relationship with that edge 18 of each aperture which faces away from the strap, and thus cause the shoulders to have barb-like engagement with edge portions of the tag, around the apertures, by which withdrawal of the strap from the tag is securely prevented and the band is held in a loop. It will be observed that when the band is formed into a loop the strap is, in effect, woven through the tag, with portions of the strap overlying one face of the tag in areas spaced lengthwise outwardly from the slots, and with another portion of the strap overlying the opposite face of the tag across the strip-like portion of the tag that lies between the apertures. Such weaving of the strap through the tag locally bows both the strap and the tag in the neighborhood of the strip 15 between the two apertures, so that the inclined edge portions 16 are caught by the shoulders on the strap, while tension on the band in the direction to open the loop merely pulls the shoulders into tighter engagement with the tag. Such securement of the strap is effective even if for some reason only one shoulder of a pair engages with an edge portion 16 on the tag.

The distance between the apertures 13 and 14, lengthwise of the band, is substantially less than the distance between lengthwise adjacent shoulders on the strap, and preferably the distance from the edge 18 of one aperture to the corresponding edge of the other aperture is about one-half the lengthwise distance between shoulders. Hence the girth of the band may be adjusted by amounts equal to substantially half the distance between lengthwise adjacent shoulders, by engaging a pair of shoulders with the edge 13 of either one aperture or the other; and therefore assurance is had that the band can be drawn tightly and securely around any article about which it is looped, and that it will adjust itself almost automatically to the size of the article as the free end portion of the strap is pulled through the apertures.

In the modified embodiment of the band of this invention shown in Figures 4, 5 and 6, the tag 7 is provided with a third aperture 19 spaced lengthwise from the slot-like apertures 13 and 14 and located at the side thereof remote from the strap. This third aperture has a size, lengthwise of the band, which is at least as great as the maximum width of the strap, to permit the free end portion of the strap to be readily inserted thereinto when the strap is twisted through a quarter of a turn. Transversely of the band the size of the aperture 19 is smaller than the maximum width of the strap so that as the strap untwists after its insertion into said aperture a pair of shoulders on the strap can engage edge portions of the aperture to hold the band temporarily looped around an article to be identified. Obviously the strap can be readily released by again twisting it through a quarter turn to fiatwise align it with the long dimension of the aperture I9, permitting the strap to be readily withdrawn from said aperture without interference from the shoulders. The aperture 19 is particularly useful for temporarily holding together and identifying small bunches or bundles of articles, as for example groups of wires comprising one distinct set of circuits in an electrical system having very many conductor wires cabled in close proximity to one another.

In either embodiment of the invention, indicia can obviously be placed on the strap as well as on the tag, or the band may be color coded in any desired manner.

However utilized, the band of this invention will be seen to have great versatility combined with low cost, compactness, and the ability to have its opposite ends securely and readily adjustably connected together so that the band is capable of serving as a sturdy but inexpensive bailing and bundling tie as well as a permanent or temporary identifying marker.

What is claimed as my invention is:

l. A marker band adapted to be quickly and securely fastened around an article to be identified, comprising an elongated strap of relatively stiff paper-like material and an indicia receiving tag integrally connected with the strap at one end thereof and which is substantially wider than the strap, said marker band being characterized by: the fact that both side edges of the strap are serrated to provide a plurality of pairs of shoulders facing said one end of the strap and disposed at lengthwise spaced apart distances along the strap, the shoulders of each pair being laterally opposite one another, and the serrations also defining oblique edges which extend lengthwise between adjacent shoulders at each side of the strap and are inclined toward the opposite end of the strap; and further characterized by a pair of apertures in the indicia receiving tag, spaced apart lengthwise of the band and the dimension of which transversely of the strap is substantially equal to the Width of the strap across the shoulders so that when said opposite end portion of the strap is threaded through both of said apertures in the direction to have its shoulders facing toward the connection between the strap and the tag, the portion of the tag between the apertures will hold part of said end portion of the strap closely flatwise adjacent to the plane of one face of the tag with at least one of a pair of laterally opposite shoulders confronting an edge of one of the apertures that faces the end of the tag remote from the strap, to prevent withdrawal of the strap from said apertures and hold the band looped around an article, the distance between said apertures being less than the distance between lengthwise adjacent shoulders so that a shoulder can confront said edge portion of either aperture to thus enable adjustment of the girth of the loop defined by the band by amounts smaller than the distance between lengthwise adjacent shoulders.

2. A marker band adapted to be quickly and securely fastened around an article to be identified, comprising: an elongated strap of substantially stiff paper-like matenial having both of its side edges serrated to provide a plurality of pairs of shoulders that are spaced apart along the length of the strap and face one end thereof, the shoulders of each pair being aligned with one another at opposite sides of the strap, and the serrations also defining edges that extend between lengthwise adjacent shoulders and are inclined at oblique angles to one another and to the shoulders so that between each lengthwise adjacent pair of shoulders the strap tapers to a minimum width toward the opposite end thereof; and a tag integrally connected with the strap at said first designated end thereof, said tag being substantially wider than the strap and having a pair of laterally extending parallel slots spaced apart lengthwise of the strap and the length of which, transversely of the strap, is slightly less than the distance across the shoulders so that when said opposite end portion of the strap is threaded through the two slots, starting with the slot nearest the strap, the shoulders on the strap are adapted to engage edge portions of the slots nearest the strap, preventing withdrawal of the strap from the slots and thus holding the band formed into a loop, said slots being spaced apart by a distance less than the lengthwise spacing of the pairs of shoulders to permit a shoulder to engage an edge portion of either slot and thus permit the girth of the loop defined by the band to be adjusted in amounts smaller than the distances between the pairs of shoulders.

3. The band of claim 2, further characterized by the fact that each of said slots has substantial width, as measured along the length of the strap, and has its end edges converging toward the strap so that the length of the slot along the side edge thereof nearest the strap is only slightly greater than said minimum width of the strap to insure that when the strap is threaded into the slots with its shoulders facing away from the tag the shoulders of a pair will be directed by the converging end edges of one of the slots toward a side edge of the slot which confronts the shoulders and prevents withdrawal of the strap from said slot.

4. The band of claim 2, further characterized by a third slot in the tag, spaced lengthwise of the band from said two slots and extending lengthwise of the band a distance at least equal to the maximum width of the strap and extending transversely of the strap a distance only slightly greater than the minimum width thereof, into which third slot a shouldered end portion of the strap may be inserted by twisting the same along its length, and in which it may be securely but readily releasably held by untwisting the strap to engage shoulders thereon with edge portions of said third slot which face away from the strap.

5. A unitary marker band of substantially stiff paperlike material adapted to be quickly and securely fastened around an article to be identified, comprising: a strap having serrated edges defining a plurality of endwise adjacent substantially identical wedge-shaped segments, all tapering toward one end of the strap and defining pairs of laterally oppositely extending and laterally aligned barb-like shoulders at the widest portion of each sagment and facing the other end of the strap; and a tag integrally connected with the strap at said other end thereof and having a width substantially greater than the width of the strap across said shoulders, said tag having a pair of openings, the lateral dimension of each of which is substantially equal to the widest portion of the strap and said openings being spaced apart lengthwise of the strap by a distance such that when an end portion of the strap is woven through both openings with its shoulders facing the connection between the tag and the strap, said portion of the strap is held locally bowed by the portion of the tag between the openings, thus insuring that transversely spaced edge portions of the openings will guide the shoulders toward abutting engagement with an edge of one of the openings that faces away from the strap, by which engagement withdrawal of the shoulders through the opening is prevented.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 627,920 Gould June 27, 1899 1,810,027 Moran June 16, 1931 2,063,553 Mooney Dec. 8, 1936 2,153,227 Allstatter Apr. 4, 1939 2,314,779 Fuhrmann -i. Mar. 23, 1943 

